SPECIAL PENAL LAWS || 111514

Act No. 4103Indeterminate Sentence Law

Judge Pimentel on the Indeterminate Sentence Law (ISL):
In order to apply the law, the penalty imposed upon the offender must be:
1.
2.

3.

A divisible penalty;
Penalty must consist of deprivation of liberty or imprisonment;
a. If imprisonment is not the penalty, it is not covered by the ISL;
b. Penalties which do not constitute imprisonment:
1. Destierro the movements of the offender are only restricted to a certain area which the
court has fixed; this is for his protection and the protection of the victims and their
relatives.
2. Suspension for fixed period of time; it does not have a minimum or maximum
periodit must be definite.
In the RPC, there is an article which provides suspension as penaltywhen a
person assumes public office and he fails or refuses to be sworn in or to file a
bond.1
Penalty has to have a minimum and a maximum period.

Exceptions to the application of ISL:

1. Reclusion perpetua, since it is indivisible;
2. If the maximum period for the penalty does not exceed one year;
3. Penalty consisting only of fines, even if it leads to subsidiary imprisonment
ISL does not apply to subsidiary imprisonment.
Some people are convicted for violation of special penal laws, and the penalties provided in such laws may be
named similarly to the penalties provided in the Revised Penal Code (RPC). If the nomenclature of such penalties is
similar to the one found under the RPC, ISL may be applicable to the case of such persons, unless the special law
provides otherwise.
Nomenclature of penalties under the RPC: reclusion perpetua, reclusion temporal, prision mayor, prision
correccional, arresto mayor, and arresto menor. As a general rule, Act No. 4103 applies only to felonies2 and not to
penal laws.
ISL only applies to divisible penalties. What are divisible penalties?
1.

Reclusion temporal (RT), Prision Mayor (PM), Prision Correccional (PC), Arresto Mayor (AM), Arresto
Menor (Am)
a. A penalty of Am cannot call the application of ISL because the penalty is only from 1 day to 30
days, and the minimum penalty under ISL does not even cover the periods of Am. The same goes
with AM (31 days to six months).

Some offenders cannot qualify for the benefits under ISL. In Book 1 of the RPC, there are certain persons who are
disqualified to benefit from the ISL application:

1
2

Article 236. Anticipation of Duties of Public Office (REVISED PENAL CODE).

Offenses found in the Revised Penal Code.

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Those who are convicted of crimes against national security (treason; conspiracy/proposal/misprision
thereof; espionage; rebellion; sedition, piracy etc.);
Habitual delinquents;
Those who evaded their sentences;
To those whose penalty of imprisonment does not exceed one year;
Those who violated the conditions of their conditional pardon, and;
Those who did not appear by virtue of summons to serve their sentences.

What if the person is entitled to the benefits of ISL?

Section1 of Act 4103:
The penalty fixed by law is that which shall be imposed and it cannot be increased by aggravating circumstances. In
connection with aggravating circumstances, only the maximum period for the penalty fixed by law shall be imposed
on the offender. The imposition of the minimum penalty is within the discretion of the court.
Example:
A person committed homicide. Homicide is a divisible penalty (RT). If he is entitled to the ISL benefits, the
minimum penalty imposed upon him should be one degree lower than the penalty imposed by law, without taking
into consideration the mitigating and aggravating circumstances.3 From a penalty of RT (12 years and 1day to 20
years), the degree is lowered to prision mayor (6 years and 1day to 12 years).
PM minimum (6y1d to 8y); medium (8y1d to10y); maximum (10y1d-12y)
RT minimum (12y1d to 14y8m); medium (14y8m1d to 17y4m); maximum (17y4m1d to 20y)
A person convicted of homicide without any aggravating circumstances and without any mitigating circumstances
shall get the maximum penalty of RT in its medium period (17y4m).
Court has full discretion in fixing the minimum period for the purpose of arriving at an indeterminate sentence.
If there is a mitigating circumstance present, how is the minimum to be fixed?
Minimum of PM is 6y1d to 8y. It is within the total discretion of the court to fix the minimum penalty
within that range.
What if the person is not entitled to the benefits of the ISL? What is the penalty to be imposed?
The minimum of the penalty shall be the minimum period fixed by law. It CANNOT be lowered to one degree. If
the penalty is RT, the period will be anywhere from 12y1d to 14y8m, since that is the minimum of RT
No mitigating, no aggravating medium period of penalty.
Circumstances, persons, or crimes enumerated under RA 4103 are exclusive. Additions cannot be made except as
amended or provided by law.
Accused was a guilty of a crime the penalty of which is imprisonment of not more than one year. Does ISL apply?
ISL expressly provides that it is not applicable in this case. You must apply a straight penalty. A straight penalty is
one the period of which is fixed by law, such as ten days, thirty days, four months, five months, up to one year.
3

The modifying circumstances are only taken into consideration in imposing the maximum period.

What if the minimum penalty of an offense is less than one year but the maximum penalty exceeds one year?
ISL will apply.
Special laws may apply the benefits of ISL if the nomenclature of the penalties is the one found in the RPC. In order
for the benefits to apply to cases under a special penal law, it must be that either the law is silent as to the application
of ISL, or that it expressly provides that ISL is applicable.
Republic Act No. 9346 prohibition on the imposition of the death penalty.
Human Security Act penalty is 40 years w/o parole. This is a straight penalty, having neither a minimum nor a
maximum.
What is the purpose of Act 4103?
By virtue of Act 4103, offenders can serve the minimum and be entitled to parole sooner than what the law
ordinarily affords.
Section 3. BOARD OF PARDONS AND PAROLE
This is the Board that analyses the reports of social workers and similar personnel to determine whether an
offender who has served his minimum sentence is entitled to parole. The Board may also recommend to the
President of the Philippines absolute or conditional pardon to an offender who has committed an exceptional act.
The Robin Padilla Case: Conviction as a Road to Pardon.
Robin Padilla was convicted of illegal possession of firearms and thus appealed his case. He then applied for pardon,
which was granted by the Office of the President. The SC berated the Executive Secretary for granting pardon to a
person who was not yet convicted with finality of judgment. The Office of the President thus pushed for the
conviction of Padilla in order to grant him pardon.
OTHER THINGS DISCUSSED:
Requisites for the grant of amnesty of a person who is guilty of political offense:
1.
2.
3.

The offender must admit in writing his criminal responsibility for the act he committed.
Admission must be submitted to the President together with endorsements from well-known pips like
Congmen, etc.
President then gives amnesty.

BUT amnesty is not yet final. The amnesty given by President must be submitted to Congress for the latters
concurrence.
Still on the Board of Pardons and Parole:
Chairman of the Board is the Justice Secretary. There are four other members in the Board. One of them must
always be a woman as provided by law. Honorarium for every meeting is P50/session.

ASSIGNMENT:

 Next week and in the subsequent meetings: 3019-plunder, anti-money laundering law, 8484 (access device
law), 7610, 9262, Anti-Voyeurism Act, etc.
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